Thumbs up for Suffolk's community hospitals

Suffolk patients are happy with the quality of treatment they are receiving at the county's four community hospitals, with everyone using the service willing to recommend it to others.

The Friends And Family Test results for Suffolk Community Healthcare's hospitals show that every patient who fed back in October said they were "extremely likely" or "likely" to recommend them.

Patients described the care they received at Newmarket, Aldeburgh, Felixstowe and Ipswich's Bluebird Lodge as "excellent", with staff "willing to help in any way they could". Newmarket Community Hospital rated particularly highly, with one patient saying: "You are all great - 10 out of 10. You made me feel at home, very comfortable. Thank you."

Patrick Birchall, chief executive of Suffolk Community Healthcare, which is run by Serco, said: "We are absolutely delighted that everyone using our community hospitals would recommend them to others.

"Patients commented on the care and attention shown by our staff, as well as the quality of treatment they received. This is a testament to the hard work of all of our colleagues in the inpatient units, and great news for everyone using the service.

"Despite these excellent results, we will continue to find ways to improve still further. We welcome any feedback and carry out regular, in-depth interviews with patients and carers to give us more detail about their experiences of our care and where changes could be made.

"In addition, we would encourage anyone with a compliment or a concern to get in touch with us and share their views so that we can do even better in the future."

Anyone who would like to comment on Suffolk Community Healthcare's services can contact Kevin Davis, patient experience manager, by emailing enquiries@suffolkch.nhs.uk or writing to 86 Sandy Hill Lane, Ipswich, IP3 0NA.